Schmidt cites C3I&N covid-era achievements, productivity

  • Published
  • By K. Houston Waters
  • 66th Air Base Group Public Affairs

HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. – Maj. Gen. Michael Schmidt, program executive officer for Command, Control, Communications, Intelligence and Networks, headquartered here, provided an update on his portfolio during a virtual meeting with members of the Hanscom Representatives Association June 10.

Schmidt, who oversees more than 2,600 personnel and a $12.1 billion budget, provided an overview of C3I&N programs, discussed overcoming challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, and outlined his plan for return to full capacity.

“From Hanscom Air Force Base and the C3I&N team, we just want people to know that we have been hard at work,” said Schmidt. “Since day one of this pandemic, C3I&N has never closed and we have never stopped doing business.”

Schmidt praised the Enterprise IT & Cyberspace Infrastructure Division for their effort in expanding the Air Force network. In just a few weeks, its work brought the total number of teleworkers from around 10,000 to more than 200,000.

Nearly 90 percent of C3I&N employees are currently teleworking. Due to the success of nearly all of the programs, and their productivity, many employees will continue teleworking for the foreseeable future, said Schmidt.

“In my opinion, we are actually more productive than we were before the pandemic,” he said. “We are focused, we are not traveling, and we can fully support the C3I&N mission, to provide the highest quality integrated cyber, crypto, networks, and communications capabilities possible.”

From March 16 to May 8, C3I&N obligated $514 million, awarded 317 contracts, conducted 47 program management reviews, performed eight site surveys, and held two virtual hiring events, which resulted in 15 new hires, said Schmidt.

“All of our programs: Enterprise IT as a Service, Platform One, Cloud One, Unified Platform, have been moving along in a great way,” said Schmidt. “Due to our role with the Ones, we are very much a part of what’s going on in the Advanced Battle Management System. Also, we have Battlefield Airborne Communication Node aircraft flying every single day. And our Outlook Web Access program has much better capability and performance. We’ve gone from 20,000 user authorizations to 120,000 user authorizations. So it’s a really exciting time.”

The general also spoke about the recent launch of Air Force recruiting app “Aim High,” which is the 50th application on the Cloud One platform. “Aim High” can be downloaded from commercially available app stores today.

Before ending his presentation, Schmidt reminded HRA members of the critical services C3I&N has provided to Air and Space Force personnel during the pandemic.

“What we’ve learned during this unprecedented time is that having great telecommunications tools is extremely important,” he said. “I am just proud that we can provide that to our Air and Space Forces.”

HRA brings representatives from small, large, and start-up Hanscom area businesses together to encourage collaboration in the acquisition process.